Revelation 21
Notes
Transcript
The City of God.
The City of God.
Good morning my friends!
I hope you’ve had a great week.
I know each day has its challenges but I trust the Lord has been gracious to you.
It is hard to think that we are already half way though this month, we are just over a month away from Christmas.
You know what I like about this time of year? ---Amazon..
I like that I can click and ship gifts.... I do not necessarily like going and shopping…
But we are entering into the most wonderful time of the year pretty soon, and it is because of Jesus…
His entrance into the world changed everything, and we will be looking at that through the month of December.
But today, we come back to the book of Revelation and today we are in chapter 21.
Now today we are at a new time for the Kingdom of God, Satan has been forever defeated. And sadly we witnessed the Great White Throne of Judgment, where all the dead are judged, those whose name was not found in the book of life, who chose to live life without Christ.
So lets begin with this thought today...
1. A New Heaven and New Earth....
If there is one thing we see immediately, it is the truth that this world, this earth and the heavens must be changed as well, so they have to pass away.
Lets look at verse 1 Rev 21:1
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
Consider what John sees here… He says I saw a new heaven and a new year for the first had passed away..
Why? Why did the first heaven and earth have to pass away.
Remember, these are the last vestiges of sin and evil. Everything had been infected by evil, by sin. Adam and Eve through the deceit of Satan brought sin into this world, and thus it was corrupt, and evil.
And consider that just as mankind has to be changed, Paul says the mortal must put in immortality, the perishable the imperishable, in 1 Cor 15, so must this heavens and earth.
Remember what Paul said in Romans 8:20-21
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
All of creation longs for freedom from sin along with mankind… so in a perfect kingdom there will be none of it.
It will pass away… but also notice what replaces the old heavens and earth..
John says He saw a new heaven and earth… a perfect,
The “new” represents a sin free, a corruption free earth and heavens. This will replace the old and it reminds us that as the Lord is perfect, so is all that is around Him.
But John also said that the sea was no more…right now about 3/4 of our world is water and suddenly there will be no more sea, that is an interesting fact.
But don’t fear there is water in heaven… There is a beautiful river and it is flowing from the throne of God, it is the river of life as we will see more about it next week Lord willing in chapter 22.
The great thought I want you to see and understand is that the Father is making all things new.
There is noting that is touched by sin any longer, there is only peace, joy and perfection because of Jesus.
Heaven as one dear saint preached, Heaven is the home of the saved....
Secondly my friends, the new continues to come into view
2. A New Jerusalem.....
As we have seen, opening the text of chapter 21, we see a new heaven and a new earth has come into view. Now the next part of the vision addresses a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.
Lets look at verses 2-4 Rev 21:2-4
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Imagine this scene, Can you think about this, just how beautiful this city must be… the illusion is that she is adorned as a bride for her husband.
Think of a beautiful bride coming down the isle and when her soon to be husband sees her, he is blown away, moved deep down inside himself we see that he is moved to tears at the sight of her..
That is what we see here. She is beautiful...
And there is so much to unpack here so lets dive in..
A. The first thing I want you to see is this city, the new Jerusalem is present now and located where? In the new heaven, specifically on the new earth… this is really what we could call the 4th heaven.
What do I mean..
1. The first heaven is the atmosphere, the sky and air we breathe currently.
2. The second heaven is the area outside of our atmosphere, space…where the moon, sun and stars reside in our universe.
3. The third heaven is were the dead in Christ reside right now, it is where we are doing to be with our Lord. But, consider this.. in all reality this is a temporary place. Heaven where the dead reside right now, it is not our permanent place.
Bear with me here as I explain what I am talking about...
4. The 4th heaven… is the new heaven and the new earth. It is yet to be created right now, but we know it is coming, how so? The Lord has told us and His word is true. No error!
Remember what the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 37:9
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
The land that we will inherit is a new heaven and a new earth.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:5
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
This new heaven and earth is where sin and shame will no longer be an infection upon the land or its people.
This world is not our home, but that one is,The one that is coming will be our home and we are waiting for it.
But don’t worry, until that time comes, all those who have gone before us, they are safe and with the Lord.
He is able to take care of them until the day we see him and enter into that new city.
And what joy there will be when we see that city coming down out of heaven… What a blessing.. until that day, we are like Abraham… who was looking for a city who builder and maker is God...
Now consider this..
B. Who will be there in that City?
All those who are in Christ… Those who have overcome....Listen to Rev 21:7
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Those who overcome, some translations says conqueror will be the ones who are dressed in white garments and according to Rev 3:5
5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
These overcomers, those who have conquered are not some special class of people, no!… Only Jesus is special, We are the believers! The ones who have trusted Christ as Lord and Savior are the ones present in heaven.
But sadly please note, not everyone is going to be in heaven, as I have heard many preachers remind us and as the Word tells us, not all will be saved… it is sad and true, some will reject God, some will say no to God...
They have that right, God is not forcing anyone to trust him. And sadly, Satan will blind many, deceive them and take them to hell with him.
John tells us of those who will not enter heaven. Look in verse 8, Rev 21:8
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Only those who have repented of their sin and asked Jesus to enter their lives being both Lord and God will enter that kingdom.
C. Now moving on, thinking about the New Jerusalem, John is given a description of that city which he is allowed to record for us...
Lets look at verses 10-14 to begin with… Rev 21:10-14
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
John tells us that this city as it comes down from heaven will radiate the glory of God, as a fine jewel that glistens or shines in the light. John says it is like jasper.
Now what is jasper? A lot of people think it is like a diamond, yet regardless, the city is flooded with light because our Savior is the light.
It is a city with high walls, just looking ahead a little bit, we see examining verses 15-16, we see the city is a perfect cube, 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles long and 1500 miles tall..
Can you imagine, it would be something like from the Canada to Mexico, from the the the Missouri to California… it is a massive structure and it is setting down I think where the old city sat...
And John tells us this city as 12 gates. 3 gates on the eastern side, 3 on the north side, 3 one the south and 3 on the west. And each gate bears the name of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Now think of this for a minute, 3 tribes are represented on each side of the city. This is how the tribes camped in and around the tabernacle in the wilderness. The temple was in the center and then 3 tribes one each side of the tabernacle, East, West, North and South...
And each of those 12 gates has a angel, the angel is like a sentry, watching over and protecting each of the gates.
And then look at the foundations of the city of God. There are 12 foundations, each one named after 12 apostles.
And remember that Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:19-20
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
So the whole structure is built upon the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, with Jesus as the Chief cornerstone
Everything is built upon Jesus… He is our solid rock, He is the anchor of our faith.
Now lets look on, verses 15-20 Rev 21:18-21
18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
John is trying his best to describe the magnificent beauty of this city…My dear friends, I simply believe the city is almost indescribable, the splendor, the brilliance, and the majesty of our God is in that city…Praise the Lord..
And this leads us into my last thought today,
3. The Presence of God...
As I said my friends, the majesty of our God is in that city, and we should rejoice in His presence.
Lets look at those final verses 22-27
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
John tells us of just how wonder our new presence with be with the Lord.
The first thing John describes is the lack of a temple in this new city.
In the Old Testament, the Temple of God is the center of the city, not literally but it is the idea that everything in life revolved around the Temple and the worship God has prescribed for them before the coming of Jesus.
John says in this new city, there is no Temple, because the Lord Almighty and the Lamb will now constitute the Temple . To be in their presence is to be at the center of worship for the whole universe.
But also note, there is no sun or moon in this new world, why… The glory of God and of the lamb are the only light that is needed, and they shine brightly my friends.
Paige Patterson said “The radiance of the Lamb is sufficient to light the city..”
The gates of that city will always be open, and the saints of God are all who are present, those whose names were written in the Lambs book of life...
And look, John tells us that nothing impure will ever exist or enter into this place every again.
There is a old song that tells us “There is coming a day
There is coming a day
when your hearts are shut down
no more clouds in the sky
No more tears to dim the eyes
Only speaks forever more
On that healthy golden shore
what a day, glorious day that will b
What a day that will be
When my Jesus i shall see
when i look upon His face
the one who saved me by His grace
When he takes me by his hand
and lead me to the promise land
what a day, glorious day that will be ×2
What a day to not only see Jesus, but to worship him continually in his city, the home that was prepared for us, for His glory.
Are you ready for that day… are you ready to see Jesus..
it will be the most marvelous day we have ever experienced...
Lets pray
